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October 5, 2020

Oct 5, 2020Newsletter

Don’t forget! COUNT DAY for the State of Michigan is THIS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7. Please make sure your child attends Live Lessons as always, and, logs in to EACH of their SIX CLASSES to complete specific Count Day activities. Thanks in advance for ensuring that your child participates in Count Day this Wednesday so that we as a school can receive the best resources we are able to continue providing the high-quality education that all of our students deserve!

The ‘iCademy Global Blog’ is a weekly communication of important reminders, announcements, and upcoming events that will be posted at the close of each week.

Need-to-Know Information:

  • FUNDING GRANTED!!! Great news for iCademy Global and all other schools serving students in unique ways during this pandemic! If you remember, a few weeks ago, there was a proposal to cut per pupil funding significantly. Part of that proposal included language that would not extend funding for students who were part of a school like iCademy that increased enrollment exponentially during this time of COVID-19. We asked you to contact your legislators – and you did! THANK YOU!! The Governor signed the legislation late last week, keeping per pupil funding stable from last year, as well as extending funding for those schools who grew in attendance. If you were one of the many people who contacted a legislative official to make sure your voice was heard on this topic, please consider dropping that official a note of thanks. Of special note, Senator Theis, the Senate Education Committee Chair, really fought for us to make it happen. Please consider sending her a note of thanks as well. ltheis@senate.michigan.gov Thank you again. We appreciate the amazing support of our iCademy Families!

  • COVID-19 DASHBOARD FOR iCADEMY: iCademy Global will share updated COVID-19 data each Monday afternoon.  Due to HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) laws, no personal information will be shared. When iCademy receives communication of a positive case, we will notify the county health department who traces and directly connects with those in close contact of the positive case.  iCademy will notify the school family of the case and the actions taking place as necessary. https://icademyglobal.org/covid-19-dashboard/
  • LUNCH/BREAKFAST PICK UP: Did you sign your children up for breakfasts/lunches this week? If SO, read pick-up reminders below. If NOT, you can sign-up again this week Sunday for meal pick-up next week!

    1. Arrive at the iCademy door in the east lot (see map below) between 2:15pm-2:30pm on MONDAY (TODAY!).

    2. Stay in your car and your lunches will be delivered to you.

    3. Repeat each week you wish.

    4. Questions? Please contact Nancy at nmichaels@hollandchristian.org.

  • Feeding America: Mark your calendar and share these dates with friends and neighbors! Feeding America Mobile Food Distribution takes place at Zeeland Public Roosevelt School’s west parking lot (175 W. Roosevelt Ave., Zeeland, MI 49464). This is a drive-thru, no contact distribution. All are welcome. No income guidelines or proof of residency requiredEvent runs 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm on October 13, November 17, December 8 and January 12, 2021.

  • NOT LOCAL? LOOKING FOR FREE MEALS FOR YOUR FAMILY?
    • Contact your local ISD: If you are out of range, but would like to take advantage of the week’s worth of free meals for your children, please connect with your local Intermediate School District for information on receiving free meals. As long as your local ISD has a virtual school program, you can qualify for free meals.
    • Meet UP and Eat UP: This is another incredible program (sponsored by the United Way) providing meals for families throughout Michigan. Please view the interactive map HERE for more information on food distribution near you.

  • K-12 Synergy Session THIS Thursday, October 8 @ Crane’s Apple Orchard in Fennville, MI from 10AM-noon! We had such a large turnout for apple-picking in September that we wanted to offer one more date for gathering together to pick apples with other iCademy families!  We ask that you please SIGN-UP HERE so we know who to plan for. Details for the event are located in the sign-up. Hope to see many of you there THIS Thursday!

     

  • Count Days for 2020-2021: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7th & WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10th. It is very important that your child joins for Live Lessons and makes progress in their school work on those days. Checking in on this day is a state requirement and how we receive the state funding for your child. All students must log into EVERY class on that day for a minimum of 3 minutes each.  (For a little bit of added fun to the day, our elementary, middle school, and high school will have some drawings to win some pretty cool PRIZES!)

Reminders:

  • Outdoor Discovery Center Community Connection Class: This optional class kicked-off last month for kindergarten through 5th grade students! We had another great week together and continue to be excited for this opportunity for students to learn at the ODC each Tuesday afternoon this semester!

  • Engagement & Attendance: In a traditional brick and mortar school when students show up for the day or for a class, the teacher takes attendance and that is submitted to the State of Michigan. At a virtual school like iCademy Global, three factors play a role in engagement and attendance.  Two-way communication, participation in Live Lessons/check-in with Mentors and adequate time and progress lets us know that you are engaged in your school work and are counted as being present at iCademy Global.  When a student is not meeting the expectations, they are flagged as being absent.

     

  • Truancy: In order to meet the state expectation of 1098 hours engaged in coursework each year, it is required that iCademy Global students spend an average of 420 minutes per day doing school work – Monday through Friday. In many cases, absences from school are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. However, chronic absenteeism can have a drastic impact on your child’s education. Children chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to learn to read by the end of third grade. By sixth grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign of drop-out. By ninth grade, good attendance can predict graduation even better than eighth grade test scores. 

    When we see that a student is not completing his/her coursework within the coursework and/or participating in required Live Lessons, not attending mentor meetings or lacking in two-way communication, parent/guardian will be contacted via an attendance letter indicating multiple absences and requesting a virtual meeting to create a personalized Learning Plan. Parents are a huge player in the success of the students as well.  Parents will be required to walk along side of the student for accountability purposes to ensure success.  If a student does not adhere to the personalized Learning Plan, the Learning Team will begin the Truancy process which may result as a formal file to Truancy through the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District.

  • Got Questions? We’ve got answers! Whenever you have questions, big or small, we are here to answer them! Your first point of contact for all questions is your child’s MENTOR. Can’t remember who that is? When your child is logged-in to their Student Portal (https://portal.icademyglobal.org) with their Microsoft 365 credentials, their Student Dashboard has their mentor’s contact information. The quickest way to reach your child’s mentor is for the student to connect with them in Zoom. From there, they can direct you to the right place if they personally can’t answer your questions.
  • iCademy Annual Asbestos Notification: Please click this link to view this annual notification.
  • Email List: Do you have another family member you would like added to our email list for school-wide communication? If so, please contact Ms. Leisa Lobbezoo at leisa.lobbezoo@icademyglobal.org to be added.

Upcoming Events: 

  • Wednesday, October 7 Count Day!
  • Thursday, October 8 – K-12 Synergy Session – Crane’s Apple Orchard (# 2!)
  • Thursday, October 15 – K-5 Synergy Session: Outdoor Discovery Center Partnership – Nature Challenges/Play

Important iCademy Resources:

Have an excellent week!

– iCademy Global Staff